High hopes on Huntington as Northeastern prepares for opener

Northeastern head football coach Rocky Hager is like a seasoned vintner, slowly and carefully crafting his team back toward respectability.

His four-year Huntington Avenue tenure has been filled with potholes.

During that time, the Huskies’ football team has endured four consecutive losing seasons (15-29), and last year suffered through the added indignity of waiting to see if the administration was going to end the proud 75-year football tradition.

Despite those travails, as Northeastern embarks on its 2008 season Thursday night in Muncie, Ind., against Div. 1 Ball State, a sense of optimism hovers over Parsons Field.

The reason is the strength in numbers. Hager is welcoming back 15 starters on a roster that sports 43 returning lettermen, including five Brockton natives and several other area players.

“Look, we’re taking a step-by step approach,” said Hager, who owns a pair of national championships while he was the head man of North Dakota State in the late ’80s and early ’90s. “Our No. 1 goal is to have a winning season. But, in all honesty, we are going to be a pretty good football team.

“We’re a tough, aggressive, gritty bunch — made up of real good character. I like our focus and attitude. We’ve come out of camp relatively healthy, and if I had to use one word to describe our squad it would be: ‘Salty.’”

Optimism aside, a winning season in the Colonial Athletic Association — perhaps the toughest Div. 1-AA conference in the nation — will be an Everest-like climb. Then mix in a pair of road games against Div. 1 opponents and the difficulty in magnified.

“We schedule these Div. 1 games for two reasons,” said Hager. “First, it gives our student-athletes a chance to compete and measure against the top level of talent. But more importantly, we receive a nice check.

“Unless, we’re able to bring 10-11,000 fans in our stands, we need that money to meet our budgetary requirements. That is just the reality of the situation.”

The coach, who expects his team to be in the CAA mix, gave an assessment of his charges.

“On defense, we’re in a bit of a transition,” Hager said. “We’re going to a four-man front, but we will, at times, still operate out of a three. We’re also trying to add to our overall package. And put more pressure on the quarterback. We’ll do some more zone blitzing- as well as some more blitzing in general.

“In order to succeed on defense, discipline is the No. 1 ingredient. Our defensive line is very experienced, and with the return of (Brockton junior) Jason Vega from injury, I think we can be quite disruptive against the opposition’s quarterback.

“One thing I can guarantee,” Hager added, “is that all 11 will run to the football on every play.”

Hager feels that the offense is the more experienced side of his team, and this season he is going to be a little more wide open than in previous years.

“Over my coaching career, I’ve been more of an option coach, but after working as an assistant at Temple University, I appreciate the passing game a little more, so this season we hope to use multiple formations, incorporating both power and the spread attack.”